Jazz News

The Dark Knight's Musical Mutations

Source: All About Jazz
July 29, 2008

The Dark Knight has survived many Sonic Iterations Though its current spectacle hews closely to the conventional blockbuster score of Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard. Which works just fine, thanks, considering the film recently broke the record for fastest ever to rack up $300 million. But before those two composers, everyone from Nelson Riddle and Prince to Danny Elfman and Siouxsie and the Banshees has chilled in the Batcave.

Although diehards may feel that Batman Forever and ...

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Hiram Bullock Charismatic Jazz-Rock Guitarist

Source: All About Jazz
July 28, 2008

Hiram Bullock was a talented and charismatic guitarist, a rock'n'roller with a jazz head who bridged the world of sophisticated pop and the avant-garde New York jazz scene.

A super-session player, Bullock was mentored by the producer Phil Ramone, and his work can be heard on Steely Dan's Gaucho (1980), Paul Simon's One Trick Pony (1980), Sting's Nothing Like the Sun (1987), Billy Joel's The Stranger (1977) and Barbra Streisand's A Star Is Born (1976). He also played with the ...

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How Bad Are Ipods for Your Hearing?

Source: All About Jazz
July 28, 2008

WHAT? Hearing loss is more common than ever before. About 16% of American adults have impaired ability to hear speech, and more than 30% of Americans over age 20 -- an estimated 55 million people -- have lost some high-frequency hearing, according to a new study published Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The finding has got experts -- and concerned parents -- wondering anew: does listening to loud music through headphones lead to long-term ...

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Secrecy Cloaked 'Dark Knight'

Source: Michael Ricci
July 28, 2008

Warner Bros. took painstaking care to thwart pirates ahead of the film's premier, and the effort paid off. The mission was to keep The Dark Knight from seeing the light of day.

In an era of instantaneous digital copying and widely available high-speed Internet access, the premature and unauthorized release of a movie to the public -- especially a coveted summer blockbuster -- can spell disaster. If the movie's a stinker, the word will travel at the speed of a ...

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New Zealand Iconic Jazz Festival Appoints New Director

Source: All About Jazz
July 28, 2008

For 46 years Tauranga has been the stage for the National Jazz Festival delivered to thousands of Jazz fans from around the country. What only a few people realize is that this iconic event has been organized by volunteers all this time. “But we can only take this Festival so far." says Tauranga Jazz Society President, musician and past Festival organizer Liam Ryan. “The Festival has outgrown its present structure and it was time for us to appoint a paid ...

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McCartney's Air Traffic Control Aide Billy Joel's Shea Concert

Source: All About Jazz
July 28, 2008

Air Traffic Control, Police Escort Aided Paul McCartney's Arrival at Billy Joel's Shea Concert

Following Paul McCartney's return to Shea Stadium for a guest performance at Billy Joel's final concert at the New York Mets' home, the Beatle talked about his last-minute arrival for the show. When Joel took the stage to begin the concert, McCartney was in an airplane from London bound for New York. “Billy had asked me if I could join him a while back when he ...

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Youssef Chahine Renowned Egyptian Filmmaker Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
July 28, 2008

In more than 40 films and documentaries, Youssef Chahine sought to capture and defend the spirit of multicultural tolerance against the forces he saw undermining it: fundamentalism, dictatorship and imperialism.

Youssef Chahine, an Egyptian filmmaker whose work over nearly five decades made him a renowned figure in Arab cinema, died Sunday at Al Maadi Military Hospital in Cairo. He was 82. Chahine fell into a coma last month after suffering a brain hemorrhage and was flown to France in critical ...

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India's New Partnership: Bollywood and Hip-Hop

Source: Michael Ricci
July 28, 2008

NEW DELHI -- Is Bollywood ready for Snoop Dogg?

The rapper once dubbed “America's Most Loveable Pimp" by Rolling Stone makes his debut in India this summer, with a guest appearance on the title track of a highly anticipated Bollywood movie, Singh Is Kinng. The movie is set to open in August, but the title song is already in heavy rotation on some radio stations in India. A fusion of hip-hop and bhangra with a simple chorus ("Singh is Kinng, ...

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